The key to positive wellbeing is a happy, calm mood. We’ve rounded up 5 smart ways to feel calmer naturally, including a relaxing meditation you can do anywhere…
Come to your senses, break the blues spiral. When it comes to blue moods, we’re pretty much self-winding, often overthinking ourselves into a corner.
1.Slow things down
Meditation expert, Jillian Lavender helps us lift the gloom with a sensory meditation that you can do anywhere:
- Sit down, take a few deep breaths, turn your attention to what you can see close by – light falling on a tree or an object at your desk.
- After 30 seconds, move to the sense of taste – perhaps recall the sandwich or chocolate you ate at lunch.
- After half a minute, move on to the sense of smell. Notice subtle aromas you hadn’t picked up on – moisture in the air, the scent of your perfume.
- Then notice what you feel on your skin – that rush of air as the car window opens, or the smooth, soft scarf against your neck.
- Finally, what can you hear? There are layers of sound, and when we pay attention, we pick up on the layers that slipped our notice.
And the pay-off? “You snap back into the here and now, reconnect with the world, feeling secure and realising you’re not alone, and everything is fine,” says Jillian.
ALSO SEE: The Amazing Health Benefits Of Yoga
2.Focus on your health
SA Natural Products’ Estie Shreiber believes there are certain fail-safe ways you can achieve daily healthy. See her 5 top tips below:
3.Tap into happy
Want to feel good in minutes? Send a cheerful email to a friend you haven’t seen in ages. Socialising, even online, can lift your spirits, and take away gloomy feelings.
4.Burst into song
Are we kidding? If you’re feeling down, find a quiet space where you won’t be disturbed and sing your heart out for five minutes, says well-being expert Mary Lambert. As you sing. you raise your spirits and energy by breathing more deeply and releasing any tension your body is holding. How could you not feel happier?
5.Lighten up
Get sunshine-happy with fast-acting flower essences with mood improvers, like blood orange and lavender. Turn up the lights, open the windows and inhale. Try a mix of the South African Flower and Gem Essences lavender and orange essences. It smells like summer and instantly lifts your mood. Visit www.safloweressences.co.za
ALSO SEE: 4 ways to have less stress and more happiness
6.Get moving
It’s no secret that doing some exercise can lift you up. But which one will do it for you?
Fresh air: It has to be walking, running or cycling. It doesn’t have to be too strenuous, but build up to a rate that gets your heart pumping for at least 20 minutes, three times a week.
Gym: Switch to lifting weights. Research shows that after just one session, brain levels of serotonin and dopamine increase, leaving you feeling less bue. Get a personal trainer to design a programme that gets you to work fairly hard. Bonus? A happy and toned body!
Fit phobic? Dance. How can you be down when your endorphins are pumping and you’re having fun? Choose oldies to dance to, as research shows that nostalgia can lift your mood right up.
Bonus? There are no age or fitness barriers, and it’s very sociable.
PLUS: 5 Sports To Change Your Shape
DISCLAIMER: You must not rely on the information on this website/newsletter as an alternative to medical advice from your doctor or other professional healthcare provider.
